Strawberries

Considering I haven’t been picked for one of the Birds of a Feather Series since the very first one – and sold it at cost to a friend anyway – I am not quite sure how this happened:

Dumb random luck, or did the Universe hear my pitiful tale of woe and compensate me somehow? (Spoiler: it’s the former, not the latter.)

Aside from all the drama from the past couple of weeks (I’m on my third food-related injury this month: it’s nothing but microwaveables for the next several days!) I do really love the Bristol mold, and yes I will definitely be keeping him. 

I just wish there were more readily available examples of him in his “loose mane” look: the 2018 BreyerFest Raffle Model Jackpot,  the 2019 Best Customs prize Leap of Faith, and the 2020 Seattle Soiree Redmond are all essentially unobtainables.

(Why, why do Redmonds have to be so expensive? He’s so darn pretty, urgh!)

Anyway, I have no illusions about completing the Birds of a Feather Series collection like, ever. The only one of the previous releases I’m actively seeking out is the Crane, because I love the Emerson mold, and because of his relatively “plain” paintjob I think he’ll be one of the kinda-sorta affordable ones in the not-too-distant future.

Unlike, say, the Silver Goldfinch. Why is something they made nearly 400 pieces of priced in the $1000 range? (I know it’s a Silver, but get a grip, people!)

One series I have been thinking about completing – or at least leisurely collecting as I find them at reasonable prices – is the Berries Ponies Series. I picked up a very affordable Strawberry at BreyerFest, in fact:

(Coincidentally, I just picked and ate some teeny-tiny Alpine Strawberries from my garden. They were way easier to grow from seed than I imagined, which makes sense because you will need about fifty or so plants to make anything with them.) 

While the Croi Bramble and Bouncer Bilberry aren’t going to happen any time soon, the Juniper, Honeysuckle and Persimmon all seem achievable. I’m in no rush, though. It happens when it happens.

Another Inconsequential Thing

This is not the model I was talking about in my previous post; this was something I bought last week because the price was excellent and I (slightly) regretted not buying it when I was actually drawn for one, back in the good old days when getting drawn for Web Specials didn’t feel like a near-impossibility:

I had almost completely forgotten I had bought Goji until it arrived on my doorstep Friday night. (Yeah, it was THAT kind of week.)

Now that we have the new Fjord mold Astrid, and the new Stablemates Fjord Lyric, what little popularity the original “Henry” Fjord originally had has begun to dissipate. I totally missed out on the discussion as to why he was deemed less worthy to begin with, and at this point I’m not even sure I want to know why. 

The hobby has a way of making inconsequential things seem so important, when they’re not, really. (Says the person who has written over 1500 blog posts about… plastic horse history.)

In spite of his lack of star power, the mold still has a couple of unattainables: the 2010 WEG rerelease of Henry (only 18 made) and the 2015 BreyerFest Diorama Prize Truffle (28 made). 

The others are not so hard; I think all I am missing at this point is the 2014-2015 Regular Run release GVF Sjokolade? I’m not in any hurry. 

Time has a way of turning the tables when it comes to popularity, though: for years many hobbyists bemoaned the fact that the only Friesian available to most of us was the Jeanne Mellin Herrick mold. Now that we have several (indeed, it almost seems like too many!) Breyer Friesians to choose from, the old JMH Friesian has come back into its own, again. 

I’d eventually like to get more of the Berry Ponies series, though a few of them (the Bouncer Bilberry, and the Croi Bramble) are probably out of my reach. Maybe Strawberry, next? The Hackney Pony is another mold hobbyists don’t have an overly high regard for. 

Yeah, it’s a chonky, unrefined little thing, but I still love it for all sorts of reasons, including the fact that I might have had a very small hand in getting it produced in the first place.

Incidentally, I rather like the BreyerFest release of Astrid with the long mane, named Rapunzel:

The shape of the new mane is a little goofy, and distorts the true contours of her neck the same way Giselle’s mane does. But a cute, roany pony is hard for me to resist, and I’ll definite consider her when the time comes. (So many excellent SRs to choose from this year, so hard for me to decide!)

Pushing My Buttons

Apropos of absolutely nothing, I just want to say if I had a choice of auction models to bid on, it’d be today’s cutie-patootie rose gray Hackney with lime green ribbons. No one particular reason, it’s just the first auction model I’ve seen in a while that’s telling me it wants to come home with me.

(Pic from the Facebook page.)

Not gonna happen, of course. (Had a kitten try to do the same thing to me at the flea market yesterday. Dang it, he was persistent.)

I want to preface what I’m writing today with the following, to explain the tone: I broke out in a rash, the brake pads went on my car, and one of my projects just fell apart. Oh, and I’m having some scheduling issues at work, too. So yeah, my patience is a bit lacking.

Though some of it is my fault: I really shouldn’t be cruising the Internet when I have eleventy-billion things to do before I leave on my trip. But you know me and my multitasking problem.

Anyhow.

I found it amusing that even Reeves is getting a bit annoyed with some of us. From their forum, in regards to the Premier Club Connoisseur Offer:

There were several ways people were notified about this limited-time offer. We posted about it on Facebook, Twitter, in the Club News section of our web site, and also started a thread in the Premier Collection forum on our web site. Also, the available models could be viewed in the Club Home section of our web site.

As stated, only an extremely limited number of these unclaimed Connoisseur models were available, and they sold out quickly. There will be more special offers soon!

For a hobby that almost brags about how it adopted - and adapted to - the Internet culture right quick, I am amazed at how "disconnected" many online hobbyists are. And how persistent misinformation can be within our community, in spite of the wealth of resources available to us. 

I am not on Facebook: I don’t have an account, I don’t want an account (unless it ends up becoming medically or professionally necessary). I am not on the computer 24/7; if you keep track of my post times, you’ll notice that I, in fact, keep pretty weird and irregular hours. I am also not a member of the Premier Club.

And yet, despite all these impediments, I still managed to have found out about the offer before they all sold out.

Look, when you actively pursue any hobby, you have two commodities to spend: time, and money. You have to have at least a little bit of both, but most of us have more of one than the other. (And those that have a lot of both - well, fortunately for the rest of us, they tend to get bored very quickly and move on.)

Reeves can’t do all your work for you. Simply belonging to a club is not enough. All club membership does is give you access: it doesn’t provide you with a palanquin, it opens a door.

(A few extra freebies for the money would be nice, but that’s another issue, for another time. And also, palanquins at BreyerFest would be awesome.)

If you don’t want to spend the money, spend the time. Don’t have the time? You’ll have to spend the money. It really is that simple.

Fascinating. Or Not.

And now, of course, I’m seeing Gloss Alabaster Family Arabian Foals with gray muzzles everywhere. But that’s how most discoveries go: they were hiding right in front of your face the entire time.

I’m beginning to think that the In-Between Mares (you’ve seen the latest one on eBay, right?) might be somewhat more common than we think they are, in part because hobbyists have a pretty bad track record of distinguishing between the PAM and the FAM, much less the IBM. Some IBMs, to put it indelicately, are probably hiding right in front of a lot of hobbyists’ faces.

Actually, I’m a little weirded out by the hobby’s compulsive need to know the whereabouts of every single In-Between Mare. It’s not like fakes are getting passed off on the unsuspecting: the mold (probably) doesn’t exist anymore. I don’t think having an extra dozen or two more pieces floating around the hobby should be such a huge cause of concern, except maybe to the people who bought them "retail".

Yeah, I’m cranky. It’s been a rough couple of days.

Are you familiar with that saying "Don’t attribute to malice what can be attributed to ignorance"? There are a few variations on it, substituting stupidity, indifference or incompetence for ignorance, but the sentiment’s all the same: if something bad happens to you and yours, it’s most likely nothing personal. It’s just the fallout from some other decision, and you just happen to be the "lucky" schlub that it’s getting dumped on.

I just found out yesterday that a certain situation I’m in that I was attributing to indifference can, in fact, be attributed to malice, at least partially. The worst part is there’s absolutely nothing I can do about it, for the time being.

So if I seem a little less personable than usual for the next week or so, it’s nothing personal, guys. It’s just the fallout from me dealing with a less-than-pleasant private matter that has absolutely nothing to do with the hobby.

Back to the ponies…

So they announced the Fascinator Prize: it’s a Gloss Brookside Pink Magnum. The surprise is that I’m pretty sure everyone was expecting that to be a Live Show prize. I was thinking they’d spring the Mid-Year release Hackney Heartland High Tech on us instead. (That Dark Bay would look fabulous in gloss, dontcha think?)

I can see the logic in it, though: considering how insanely popular the Bouncer mold is right now, having a Gloss Bouncer prize model among the live show prize models would just make an already bad situation even worse, especially if it were a Children/Youth show prize. ("How much for the shiny pony, little girl?")

Better to give it out in contest open to everyone. Well, maybe not: I imagine the competition is going to be pretty scary, with some hobbyists opting for "big" over creative, and some stage moms badgering/shaming the judges for a separate category for their children. You know, the usual nonsense.

(Goes outside briefly to work on her own BreyerFest projects a while. No clues for you!)

More tomorrow, when I’m in a better state of mind.

Betting on the Ponies

I’ve had a lot of "Where am I? What day is it?" moments this week: I’ve essentially either been at work, or asleep, since 3 a.m. Tuesday. (Don’t ask.) Mercifully, I have this evening off, though I plan on spending most of it catching a few more snores before starting it all over again at 3 a.m. tomorrow.

(Blast these early assignments!)

It appears that the Taskin model is going to be a Store Special, after all. I haven’t followed up on the links though, to confirm, so take it with a grain of salt. No confirmation on the piece count, from what I’ve seen, but I expect it to be in the 500-750 range. The most recent Store Specials were 750 pieces, but the Dusty didn’t sell all that well, so 500 pieces wouldn’t be out of the question either.

I haven’t given much time or thought to BreyerFest, otherwise. It is about that time of year when they start peppering us with the PR though, isn’t it? I’m curious to see how they handle this in the post-JAH era. Since I’ll be on this work routine for the next couple of weeks, you guys will probably get the scoop on the latest BF news well before I do.

From what I can see, most of the current BreyerFest speculation seems to be focusing on potential pony-based SRs. A Bouncer is a no-brainer, and the 2004 XMAS SR Highland Pony Piper also a very distinct possibility, especially as the designated "Nonplastic" release.

I know there’s a lot of "hatin’" concerning the Traditional Hackney mold, but I wouldn’t rule him out as a possible mixed/crossbred pony, to compensate for his chunkiness. Most of us would prefer a new plastic Hackney, it’s true, but I think it’s more likely we’ll see one as a new resin in the "Breeds of the World" series, if at all.

(Did you know that the H-R Brookside Stella was among the molds considered for release by Breyer, back in the 1970s? I’m assuming the technical challenges posed by the mold put her out of contention. But oh, if only…)

I wouldn’t object to an SR of the original old Shetland, but I wouldn’t be shocked if they didn’t. No disrespect intended towards the Shetland Pony mold, but I think we’re long overdue for a new mold Shetland, and I wouldn’t be surprised if one shows up in the very near future. BreyerFest? Maybe.

If it’s not, I’m hoping it’s a Dales Pony. There’s a chance they could take the cheap and easy route, and just slap an appropriate paint job on the Piper mold, but I’m really hoping the fact that they specifically name dropped the Dales in the BreyerFest writeup in the last issue of JAH means a new mold is in the works.

You have no idea how much this idea excites me: I don’t know what it is, but I just love Dales Ponies! They most closely approximate my image of the ideal pony: sturdy, sensible, versatile, a little on the big side, a bit shaggy (but not excessively so), who also cleans up well if need be.

If I were a nonclumsy Nonplastics collector, I’d have an entire army of Hadrians.

Getting late (relatively speaking.) Time for bed.